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Student Lenders’ Slippery Jobs Numbers | FactCheck.org

Under the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act — which passed the House by a vote of 253 to 171 in September before being rolled into the reconciliation bill — the government would expand its role in making low-interest student loans, cutting off the subsidies it gives private lenders such as Sallie Mae (SLM Corp.) to originate the loans. By cutting out the middle man and making all the loans directly, taxpayers would save $61 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. More than half the savings would be used to shore up the Pell Grant program for needy students, where grants now cover a steadily dwindling share of the cost of attending a public university.

Would overhauling the student loan program really “jeopardize more than 30,000 private sector jobs,” as claimed by those who oppose it? We find that